The BackgroundIn 1944 and 1945 the Red Army drove across Eastern Europe in
its fight against the Nazis. After the war, Stalin was determined that
the USSR would control Eastern Europe. That way, Germany or any other
state would not be able to use countries like Hungary or Poland as a staging
post to invade. His policy was simple.

Each Eastern European state had a Communist government loyal to the
USSR.

Each state's economy was tied to the economy of the USSR.

If Communist control was threatened, each state could use its own
army or secret police, or call on the Red Army for help.

The Warsaw Pact of 1955 bound all of the Eastern European states closely
to the USSR.

Stalin died in 1953 and by 1955 a new policy seemed to be developing.
The new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev seemed to want better relations
with the West and reform in the USSR. In Eastern Europe, they hoped for
less tight Soviet control. In 1956 Khrushchev gave various concessions
to Poland.

Hungary 1956
The events in Poland gave hope to Hungary. Hungarians were fed up with
many aspects of Communist rule. However, the main reason they began protesting
in October 1956 was probably to do with their national pride. They resented
the increasing number of Russian officials, advisers, security officers
and technical experts who they felt were taking over their country. Protests
began in the summer of 1956 but by October the Moscow backed Hungarian
leaders were pushed out and the popular Imre Nagy took over. He brought
in a series of radical policies. The most radical of all was his plan
to make Hungary a neutral state and pull out of the Warsaw Pact. This
was too much for Soviet leader Khrushchev who sent in tanks and troops
to crush the revolt. It was bloody and brutal, with thousands of casualties.
The Western powers protested, but they knew they could do little to help
Hungary in what was the USSR's 'back yard'.

Czechoslovakia 1968
Czechs were traditionally more friendly to the USSR and more in favour
of Communism than the other Eastern European states. Despite this, by
1968 they felt that the Communist party needed to reform. It needed new
economic policies and needed to be more open and encourage free speech.
In early 1968 this feeling brought Alexander Dubcek to power in Czechoslovakia.
There was a new Soviet leader by this time as well - Leonid Brezhnev.
He watched anxiously as Dubcek reformed Czech economic policies and allowed
the Czech media to interrogate Communist party leaders live on radio and
TV. Unlike Hungary, Dubcek was a loyal supporter of the Warsaw Pact. Like
Hungary, he went too far for the Soviet leader and the tanks moved in
to Prague in August 1968. There was fighting, but not as serious as in
Hungary 12 years earlier. Again, the West protested, but was unable to
take any serious action.

Your Task
Your task is to study the sources on the Hungary 1956 and Czechoslovakia
1968 and decide what they tell historians about how the Cold War worked.
You will also have to decide which sources you want to use in your exhibition.